From The Editor: Cheat Meal for Charity

Finding ways to give back to the community can be tricky. There are so many worthy causes, it’s impossible to choose one. Volunteering is rewarding, but after work, chores, errands, family responsibilities and self-care, what time is left to volunteer? Charitable giving is easier to fit into your schedule, but with prices rising and pay stagnant, where does the money come from?

These are dilemmas that, while tricky, are absolutely worth the time and effort to solve. However, in the meantime, Dining Out for Life has been kind enough to offer us a shortcut.

However difficult it may seem to find a break in your schedule from your responsibilities, at some point, you gotta eat. On Thursday, April 24, I humbly suggest you take that break at one of the dozens of local restaurants participating in Dining Out for Life.

I assume that basically all of you are familiar with Dining Out For Life. In case you’re not, the pitch is simple: eat at a participating restaurant on April 24, they donate a percentage of their proceeds to The Aliveness Project to support their work preventing HIV and supporting those living with it. You get a delicious meal, you donate to a worthy cause. Deal? Deal.

Only one catch: I think you should get dessert. Even if, like me, this is the year you’re convinced you’re going to stick to your spring diet and get shredded by the time the lakes warm up. We’re all going to take a day off at some point. We might as well make it for a good reason! I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll feel a whole lot better eating a restaurant dessert for charity than I would putting down a dozen Taco Bell Cinnabon Delights or a pint of Ben & Jerry’s at home.

So, if that pitch worked as well on you as it did on me the first time I heard it, I’ll see you out there! You can find a list of participating restaurants at diningoutforlifemn.org. Bon appetit, and don’t forget dessert!